


Major Mistake Kirschtein

by IchiBri



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fluff, M/M, Parenting Class, Simulator Babies, Swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-29
Updated: 2015-06-29
Packaged: 2018-04-04 18:54:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,594
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4149069
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IchiBri/pseuds/IchiBri
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jean and Marco take a parenting class in high school, and their final is caring for a fake simulator baby.  Jean is less than thrilled.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Major Mistake Kirschtein

"This is fucking bullshit.  I don't wanna do it," Jean huffed, planting his elbow on the tabletop to use his fist to hold up his head.

Marco sat beside him and glanced at their teacher.  It seemed Ms. Ral didn't hear his boyfriend's profanity, so he breathed a sigh of relief.  "You could always opt out and do the alternative."

"No thanks.  Research papers suck ass, and my parents will kill me if I bring home another D."

Eyes flicked to Ms. Ral once more, and Marco internally rejoiced that she was too busy explaining the details of the alternative research paper to Annie.  If she heard Jean's language, she wouldn't hesitate to write him a detention... again.

"It won't be that bad," Marco said.

Jean arched an eyebrow.  "I don't need to take care of a fake baby to know I'm not ready to be a dad."

Marco sighed.  He loved Jean, but there were times when he questioned his boyfriend's stubbornness.  "You do realize this is parenting class, right?  You took this class knowing you'd have to take care of the baby simulator."

"I didn't know it'd be the final.  I thought I could take a zero without failing the entire class."  After all, he only took the class because Marco wanted to.

"Jean."

"I know, I know," Jean relented, waving off Marco's concern.  "It wasn't a smart plan, but I still would've passed the class."

"Jean."

"Marco," Jean mimicked.

Marco stared him down.  There were a few things Marco wouldn't budge on - the main one being the importance of an education.  Without Marco, Jean would probably fail all his classes and end up having to repeat a year.  And it wasn't because Jean wasn't smart.  On the contrary, Jean excelled in most classes when he put the effort in, but school bored the boy to no end.

Jean gave up with a sigh.  "Fine.  I'll do it, but you get to deal with my parents when the damn thing wakes them up in the middle of the night."

Marco shivered at the thought.  Flashbacks of childhood sleepovers at the Kirschtein house resurfaced from the depths of his memories.  Jean's mom suffered from insomnia; and after being woken up by late night shenanigans, she was a scary lady.  Any other time and she was the kindest woman in the city; but disturb her precious sleep, and you were guaranteed a lengthy lecture and a month long grounding.

"Why don't we take them home this weekend?  You can stay at my house, and we'll take care of them together."

Jean wasn't sure two babies at the same time would be a very smart decision.  One would be a fucking nightmare, and there was no doubt in his mind a second would be a living hell.  But even so, the idea of an entire weekend hanging out with Marco 24/7 made the idea substantially more appealing.  And this way, his parents wouldn't nag him to spend more time at home if it was for a school project.

With a defeated sigh, Jean planted his hands on the table and pushed himself to his feet.  "Fine," he huffed, shoving his hands in his pockets.  "Let's get this over with."

"Really?" Marco squeaked as he hurriedly slid his chair back and stood.

"Yes, really, but you better help."

"I will, I will," Marco said as the two of them joined the small group of students waiting for instructions.

Jean shifted his weight from foot to foot and sighed with every other breath he inhaled.  He really didn't want to do this.  Classes were hard enough to focus in without a fake baby demanding to be taken care of.  And don't get him started on how fellow students react to the distraction - staring eyes, snickering side comments, and immature jokes about who the parents were.  He'd like to avoid the extra attention like the plague, but a screaming doll wasn't exactly inconspicuous.

Marco elbowed him in the side.  "Are you paying attention?" he whispered.

No.  "Yeah," Jean sighed, turning his eyes to their teacher.  He listened to the remainder of her instructions.

"...must be documented in a journal and handed in when you return the babies on Monday.  Any questions?"  When the class remained silent, Ms. Ral continued, "Please remember to fill out the birth certificate in the packet I gave you yesterday after I give you your baby."

She began handing out simulator babies, car seats, and diaper bags.  When it was Jean's turn, he reluctantly held out his right hand so Ms. Ral could snap the 'parent' bracelet around his wrist.  It reminded Jean of wrist passes at a water park, but this one could only be removed by a pin-like key Ms. Ral had in her possession.

Jean slung the diaper bag over his shoulder and picked up the car seat with his assigned baby lying in it.  It was surprisingly heavier than he imagined it'd be, and it took all of five seconds for him to know it was going to be a pain to lug around school.  He walked back to his seat, setting the car seat on an empty chair before plopping down in his own.

He dug around in the mess that was his binder for that gigantic packet Ms. Ral gave the class the day before.  Even though he never bothered to read it, the pages were wrinkled beyond reason when he pulled it from the binder.  After smoothing it out the best he could, he flipped through the pages until finally finding the blank birth certificate.  He grabbed a pen and filled out everything but the baby's name.

What the hell was he supposed to call this thing?  Naming it seemed stupid.  What was the point?  It wasn't like he'd be calling it anything other than 'the baby'.  How many points would be deducted from his grade if he left it blank?  Or maybe gave it a dumbass name?  Ms. Ral couldn't complain as long as he named it something, right?

"Can I borrow your pen when you're done?" Marco asked as he set his own car seat atop the table.

"Yep.  Just give me a second," Jean said, scrawling what he thought was the best name for the baby on the paper.  With a satisfied smirk upon his face, he offered Marco his pen.

Marco graciously accepted it with a muttered thank you.  He quirked an eyebrow at Jean's smug smile.  "You're in a better mood," he commented as he, too, began filling out the birth certificate.

"'Cause I'm hilarious."

"Care to share what's so funny?" Marco asked, glancing up for a short moment before returning his attention to the birth certificate.

Jean slid his paper across the table and then waited, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms behind his head.  "I'm a genius."

Marco finished filling out the birth certificate before skimming over Jean's.  "Really?" he deadpanned, staring at his boyfriend in disbelief.  "Major Mistake Kirschtein.  That's what you're gonna name your son?"

"That's what I'm naming this doll," Jean corrected.

"But you're supposed to treat it as if it was your own child."

"Oh, like you can do any better."

"Isabella Sophia Bodt is far better than Major Mistake Kirschtein."

"Well, sure, for a real baby it is.  I'd never name our kid-"

An announcement from Ms. Ral cut off Jean's thought, "To the students with the babies - they are all turned on now and will not be turned off until class on Monday."

"Ugh," Jean groaned and side-eyed his assigned doll.  "This fucking thing better not-  What?  Why are you staring at me like that?"

Light brown orbs widened before darting to the table.  Speckled cheeks flushed with the slightest hint of color.  "You said  _our_ kid."

Jean gaped, his mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water.  He could deny his words or blame it on the slip of a tongue, but he couldn't deny that his mind had entertained the thought of having a family with Marco.  So he said nothing, feigning grumpiness by crossing his arms over his chest.

"Maybe we should start with these," Marco chuckled, and it was music to Jean's ears.  "Here," he handed a second bracelet - much like the 'parent' bracelet on their wrists, but blue instead of red - to Jean.  "You be my babysitter, and I'll be yours."

Jean slipped the elastic band on his other wrist before handing his blue bracelet to Marco as well.  The babies had to be chimed with their respective bracelets or they wouldn't register any care given to them; so if they planned to help each other, they needed a bracelet for each baby.

At the first sound of a soft cry that increased in volume to an echoing wail, Jean's blood ran cold.  Dear god, he hoped that wasn't his baby; but as he turned a scowl at the doll, his worst nightmare came true.  Fuck, fuck, fuck.  What the hell did it want?"

"Chime it, Jean."

Marco's words resonated in Jean's ears.  A mantra of  _chime it_ rang through his head, but the words were lost within the static of his thoughts.  The motion of his wrist was mechanical as he waved the bracelet over the doll's chest.  But no matter where he waved his wrist, the twinkling chime that was supposed to ring never sounded.  Or maybe he didn't hear it over the rush of blood resounding in his ears.

"Jean, use your other wrist."

He stared at his wrist, and sure enough, it was the blue 'babysitter' bracelet for Marco's baby.  Ignoring the not-so-quiet snickers of his fellow classmates, Jean huffed and swapped hands.  The obnoxious wailing ceased for the briefest of moments for a quiet chime to be heard before it started up again.  "Now what do I do?" he asked, staring at Marco like a lost puppy.

"Try feeding it.  And if that doesn't work, change its diaper," Marco suggested.

Okay, he could do this.  Jean dug around in the diaper bag for the plastic feeding bottle.  When he found it, he pressed the tip to the baby's mouth.  He breathed a sigh of relief when the wailing stopped and was replaced with a soft suckling sound.

"I don't wanna do this," he grumbled, dropping his head to the tabletop.

"But you're doing great."

"Only because you're telling me what to do."

"Give it time.  You'll get the hang of it."

Turning his head to rest his cheek upon the cool table, Jean peeked up at Marco.  He was all warm smiles and soft-hearted eyes, and Jean couldn't for the life of him figure out why.  It wasn't like this was fun; but then again, maybe Marco - the naturally nurturing person that he was - actually enjoyed it.  He had real experience with caring for children, what with having a little brother and a huge extended family.  Whereas Jean had made it a point to avoid babies and toddlers every chance he could, as he wasn't a fan of the puking, pooping, and eating machines.  Were babies cute?  Sometimes.  But that didn't mean he wanted to care for one, especially as a seventeen year old in high school.

Jean startled at the ring of the bell signalling the end of the period.  Orbs of copper darted around the room as each classmate rose from their seat and shuffled out of the room.  Jean's eyes fell upon Major Mistake, begging the damn doll's stomach to be sated as he pulled the bottle away.  But the second he did, the wailing started up again, and he couldn't replace the bottle fast enough.

Pleading eyes turned to his boyfriend.  "Marco," he breathed, hopelessness and desperation evident in his tone.

"Pick him up and hold him in your arms.  I'll take your stuff back to your locker and meet you in the gym."

Jean stared at him blankly before awkwardly reaching for the doll with his free hand.  His hand froze, hovering over the baby.  "Uh," he mumbled.

An amused puff of air blew past Marco's lips.  He rounded the table and replaced Jean's hand on the formula bottle.  "Support the head and neck with one hand and its backside with the other," Marco explained.

Jean did as told, reaching under Marco's arm to slide his hand beneath the doll's head.  With a hand at the base of its head and one beneath its backside, he hesitantly lifted the doll from its carrier.  Marco moved with him as he cradled the baby against his torso and waited patiently for Jean to situate the baby comfortably.

"Are you good?" Marco asked.

"Yeah."  Jean took hold of the bottle once more, then added quietly, "Thanks."

Marco smiled at Jean's gratitude, hesitating a moment longer before stepping away from him to pile their school supplies in Jean's now empty car seat.  He slung both diaper bags over his shoulder and picked up a car seat in each hand.

Jean followed Marco to the classroom door, feeling a pair of eyes on them.  He glanced over his shoulder and met the benevolent gaze of Ms. Ral.  Heat rose to his cheeks, and Jean scurried from the room as fast as he could.

He kept his head down as he maneuvered the halls. Normally, Jean had no problem plowing through underclassman, but he couldn't risk it with the baby in his arms.  Major Mistake couldn't be jostled too much or it might register a broken neck.  And god forbid Jean dropped the doll.  He was certain that'd result in a big fat _F_.

When he reached the gym, he loitered outside the open doors, leaning against the cold tile of the wall to wait for Marco.  Even after the bell rang, he didn't budge from his spot.  It wasn't like he'd actually be participating in Phy Ed today.  He couldn't exactly run laps with an expensive asset to the school entrusted to his care.  Yeah, that's be his excuse.

"What are you doing?  Now you're late too."

Jean turned toward Marco's voice and pushed off the wall to meet him.  "Not like it's the first time," Jean shrugged, strolling into the gym behind his flustered boyfriend.

Marco huffed, ready to fire a retort, but decided leaving Jean with both babies by the bleachers would be more fun.  Before Jean could speak up against it, Marco jogged off in the direction of their gym teacher - at the other end of the gym's two basketball courts.

Jean eyed Marco's sleeping baby and hoped with all his might it didn't start crying.  Major Mistake was still feeding - how fucking long would it take? - so Jean had zero free hands.  It was one thing if Jean's grade suffered from his lack of experience, but he didn't want Marco to fail with him.  Why, oh why, did Marco trust him to care for his Isabella.  For fuck's sake, Jean didn't even give his kid a decent name.  How could Marco in his right mind leave his grade in Jean's hand?

 _Please don't cry.  Please don't cry,_ he internally begged, as if the doll possessed some magical telekinesis power.

"Mr. Jinn said we can sit out today," Marco huffed as he jogged back to Jean.

Jean jolted in surprise and spun to face Marco, downright terror etched into his eyes.  "Please don't do that again."

Marco's smirk didn't budge from his face as he sat on the bottom bleacher, his car seat on the floor between his legs.  "You were fine.  Nothing happened."

"But what if it did?" Jean fired back as he carefully took a seat at his side.

"I would've heard the cries and rushed over."

Jean slumped back against the bleachers, his bottom lip sticking out in a childish pout.  He hated to admit it, but Marco was right.  Of course, he'd rush right over and wouldn't leave Jean to juggle two wailing babies.  Jean knew that all too well, but an irrational fear in him made him think he'd be doing this all alone.  He wasn't ready for this kind of responsibility.  He should've taken the alternative assignment and bullshitted his way through a research paper.

"Jean," Marco spoke softly to gain his boyfriend's attention.  "Major Mistake is done eating."

"Huh?" Jean mumbled.  His gaze turned to peer down at the doll.  When he listened, he could no longer hear the suckling sound.  As he shoved the bottle back in the diaper bag, he asked, "Now what do I do?"

"You have to burp him."  Upon receiving a confused stare, Marco elaborated, doing the motions as he explained, "Hold him like this - his head just above your shoulder while you support him with your hand.  Take your other hand and gently pat his back."

"Uh, okay," Jean quietly said.  With the carefulness one would use when handling a very expensive and fragile antique, Jean supported the baby's head and neck while shifting it upright against his chest.  His hand slid down to the doll's back and hesitated for a brief moment before tapping the heel of his palm against its back.  He patted the doll's back a few more times.  "How do I-"

His words ceased when he heard a quiet puff of air.  "Okay, that's not what I expected," he laughed.

Marco smiled, "It's a good thing dolls can't throw up."

"Ew," Jean scrunched his nose.  "Fuck that.  That's nasty."

"You get used to it."

"Then you can deal with that shit," Jean said as he gently placed his doll in its carrier.

Marco ducked his head, peeking at Jean out of the corners of his eyes with a shy smile upon his lips.  "Are you referring to our future, theoretical children?"

Jean froze for the slightest of moments as color rushed to light up his tawny cheeks.  The copper of his irises met the golden specks of Marco's orbs.  "Yes."

Marco's lips parted with a quiet puff of laughter.  "Then you can deal with dirty diapers."

Brows furrowed and lips curled in disgust, Jean gagged.  "Ugh, can't we, like, skip the baby phase."

"You'll get the hang of it.  Trust me."

Jean did trust Marco.  It was himself that he didn't trust.

Phy Ed ended without incident from either baby, and Jean wondered if Marco's was truly turned on.  He vaguely remembered Ms. Ral saying the dolls were programmed with different schedules - some being happy and content, others fussy and colicky.  It seemed Marco lucked out with a content baby.  Jean simply hoped his wouldn't be fussy.

"You'll be fine," Marco said as he stopped by Jean's locker.

"But what if it cries?" Jean asked as he shoved his binder and literature book in the diaper bag.

"Then step out in the hallway and take care of it."

Huffing out a sigh, Jean slammed his locker shut with unnecessary force.  "Fine.  See you later," he said grumpily as he joined the traffic of students filing through the halls.

"You'll do great," he heard Marco call, and he didn't miss the many giggles and chuckles it caused.

He ducked into the classroom as fast as he could and slank to his desk in the back right corner of the room.  He set the baby carrier on the floor and silently slid into his seat.  If worst came to worst, at least he had a straight path to the door.  And, hey, Armin had a baby too, so maybe Major Mistake wouldn't be the only disruption.  Of course, it'd be best if both dolls remained silent and behaved themselves, but Jean wasn't naive enough to believe that would be the case.

So he kept an eye on his baby the entire time.  It didn't really pay for him to attend class if he couldn't focus on the lecture.  Was he supposed to be silently reading the next series of poems?  By the number of people texting and snapchatting behind opened books, he'd say yes.  He was no better, though, because his blank stare didn't comprehend the poetic lines on the page.  He'd play on his phone too, but the studious Marco never opened snaps or texts during class.  The only student in the entire school that left his phone in his locker and he just had to be Jean's best friend and boyfriend.  At that moment, Jean didn't want to talk to anyone who wasn't Marco, so his phone stayed snug in the front pocket of his jeans.

The pads of his fingers tapped against the pages of his opened book with no rhythmic pattern.  Staring at the hands of the clock, he swore time passed slower than normal, like the universe wanted to give Major Mistake more chances to cry in a crowded classroom.  Jean just wanted the day to end so he could spend the entire weekend at Marco's house; but half a school day still remained, and this Language Arts class wouldn't end for another thirty minutes.

The hair on the back of Jean's neck prickled at the first soft coo which escalated to a shrill cry.  He shifted to glare at Major Mistake, but the hard line of his lips softened when he realized it wasn't his baby demanding attention.  He almost felt sorry for Armin as he scooped his baby up in his arms and hurried from the classroom with diaper bag in tow.  Almost.  That was until Major Mistake decided he had to get some attention too.

"Fucking hell," Jean mumbled as he leaned over to chime the doll.

Abandoning his book and binder, he grabbed the carrier and diaper bag to follow after Armin.  He paused outside the classroom, glancing around to spot his blond friend.   When he found Armin sitting at the dead end of the hallway with his baby cradled in his arms, Jean walked over to join him.

Armin glanced up at Jean with a nervous smile.  "Sorry.  That's probably my fault," he said, nodding toward the wailing Major Mistake.

Jean knelt down beside him.  "Sadly, we can't control these little monsters."

Armin quietly chuckled.  "That bad?"

Jean sighed, "Well, not very good."  He stared at his wailing baby and weighed his options.  Considering the last thing Jean did was feed the doll, he assumed it wanted a diaper change.

Okay, he could do this on his own.  Ms. Ral went over this in class.  Jean simply had to remember the steps.  Laying down the blanket on the floor was easy, and setting Major Mistake atop it gave him no issues.  But that was as far as his confidence stretched.  His hand fumbled within the diaper bag to find the second diaper.  After he pulled the bright green fabric free and set it at the ready beside the doll, his hands hovered over the baby.

"Do you need help?"

"Uh, no, I think I got this," Jean stuttered.  He didn't have this, but fuck if he was going to admit that to anyone but Marco.

So he inhaled a deep breath, exhaling it slowly as he unbuttoned the doll's onesie.   All he had to do was swap the yellow diaper for the green one, making sure the register tag lined up properly.  Otherwise the baby wouldn't stop crying.  Carefully lifting its legs, Jean slid the old diaper out from under its backside and replaced it with the new one.  The silence that followed was music to his ears.

Jean buttoned up the onesie and placed Major Mistake back in its car seat.  Gathering up the baby blanket and bag, he headed back to the class, leaving Armin with a "Have fun" and a wish of good luck.

He quietly slipped back into the classroom and slid into his seat.  Nearly everyone else seemed done with the poetry reading and talking among themselves, so Jean closed his book.  Didn't pay to fake read anymore, so Jean stuffed the book and binder back into the diaper bag.

As he straightened up, a quiet mewl had his copper orbs glaring at the doll.   _Don't you dare_ , he silently warned.  But Major Mistake did dare.

"Oh for fuck's sake!"

Jean froze at his own words even as the volume of the cries increased.  Like a deer in headlights, he stared blankly at Mr. Ackerman as the short literature teached eyed Jean from behind his desk.  Nope, nope, nope.  He wasn't going to deal with an angry teacher today - least of all Mr. Ackerman.

Jean darted from the room in the blink of an eye, catching Armin's gaze before purposely walking in the opposite direction.  If his locker had been any farther away, Jean would've received a miss-care for not responding to the baby fast enough; but he managed to wave his wrist in the nick of time.  Leaning against the cold metal of his locker, he slid to the floor.

The door of a nearby classroom slammed shut.  It wasn't like Jean could control the damn doll.  If he could get it to shut up, he would; so there was no need to be so pissy about it.  The teachers should've been notified that the first group of babies was being handed out today.  It wasn't like Jean enjoyed the disrupting annoyance any more than the teachers did.

He tried holding the bottle to the doll's lips, but its cries continued.  Could it really have needed another diaper change?  Jean changed it a minute ago!  But he wanted - no, needed - the baby to stop crying.  He'd try anything, even changing its diaper yet again.

His fingers still fumbled with the buttons as he swapped diapers, but Major Mistake didn't stop crying.  Double-checking and triple-checking, Jean made sure the tags registered properly, so that wasn't why the baby wouldn't stop wailing.

"What do you want?" he begged it for an answer as he cradled it in his arms.  "I changed your diaper and fed you.  You should be sleeping."  But it wasn't.  "Please calm down.  What do you need?  What should I do?"  He gently rocked back and forth as he quietly cooed and begged.

Major Mistake's whining calmed to a bubble of mewls before quieting to soft breaths of air.  Continuing to rock back and forth, Jean gazed at the baby in wonder.  "So you just wanted to be held, huh?  I can handle that."

So he held the baby in his arms, gently swaying back and forth, for the rest of the period.  He didn't budge an inch when the bell rang and students crowded the hall.  The only time he shifted to the side was when the owner of a neighboring locker needed to retrieve a notebook, shooting Jean an irritated grimace for blocking her way.  Students hurried into classrooms, many glancing in Jean's direction as they passed.  The ring of the bell signaled the start of 5th period as the last remaining stragglers rushed to their respective rooms, leaving Jean alone in an empty stretch of lockers.

Heaving a sigh, his head lolled back to stare at the ceiling tiles.  Forty-five more minutes and he could spend lunch with Marco.  Three and half more hours and he could spend the entire weekend with Marco... and two crying baby dolls.  But Jean was determined to think positive.  If he ignored the fact that they'd probably be up all night because of the mechanical monsters, Jean could relish in the idea of playing video games and watching movies for two days straight.  But first, he had to make it through the remaining school day.

 

Jean kept the diaper bag close - the bottle always within reach and the baby blanket laid out in front of him.  The moment Major Mistake cried, he swiped his wrist over the doll's chest and reached for the bottle.  If the bottle didn't work, he changed its diaper.  He swore, at any given moment, the baby demanded some sort of attention.  If he wasn't feeding it, he was rocking it.  And if the doll finally fell silent, the peaceful quietness lasted five minutes tops before it wanted its diaper changed.

Cradled in his arms, Jean held the bottle to the baby's mouth when the bell rang for early lunch release.  A stampede of bodies breezed by him, teenagers racing for less than appetizing shit that the school passed off as an edible and nutritious meal.

"Jean?"  He glanced up at the call of his name, spotting Marco walking his way.  "Aren't you on late release?"

Copper orbs purposefully adverted to the wall.  "No," he said quietly.

"Uh-huh," Marco droned, not convinced in the slightest, but he let it drop.  "I'll grab us some lunch."  He set Isabella's carrier and supplies beside Jean before strolling toward the cafeteria.

"Marco, wait!"

"You'll be fine.  Izzy's only cried once," he called with a small wave over his shoulder.  And then he rounded the corner, disappearing to leave both babies in Jean's care.

Jean warily stared at Isabella.  Major Mistake's content suckling rang loud and clear in his ears, and he dearly hoped that'd be the only sound he'd hear.  Only cried once - Jean scoffed at the very idea.  What a lucky freckled boyfriend he had!  Jean had already lost track of the number of times Major Mistake cried; and in his mind, only crying once meant Isabella was a ticking time bomb - ready to explode any second.

How he hoped she wouldn't go off until Marco's return!  Or at least until Major Mistake finished feeding - whichever came first.  Knowing his baby - and by now Jean knew the doll a little too well - he could only hope Marco returned soon, because it'd be a while before Major Mistake was full.

Either the universe hated him, or Jean was the unluckiest person in this school; because not even two minutes after Marco left, the cries of Isabella echoed in the tight hallway.  Fuck, fuck, fuck.  This couldn't be happening.  How did parents deal with twins?  Free hand - he needed a free hand.  He laid his own baby on its blanket and precariously held the bottle to its mouth.  With his now free hand, he reached across himself to chime Isabella with its respective bracelet.  Thankfully, Marco left the bottle in the outer pocket, and Jean easily grabbed it, bringing it to the doll's lips.

A sigh of relief escaped him when the crying turned to the ever familiar suckling sound.  He glanced up when he heard footsteps approaching, an expectant smile waiting to greet Marco; but the smile fell from his lips when he met the gray eyes of his literature teacher, a tray of food in his hand.

Jean internally cursed, his gaze dropping to the specks of dirt on the floor.  If he didn't see Mr. Ackerman, then the teacher couldn't see him.  Pretty great logic, right?

A slip of paper floated to the floor in front of him, landing beside Major Mistake.  "Good luck, and enjoy your weekend."

Jean looked up in time to see the retreating back of Mr. Ackerman as he headed for the teacher's lounge.  Just great.  That paper was probably a detention slip.  He guessed he'd be spending his lunch on Monday bored out of his mind in detention.

"I knew you could handle it."

Turning his head, Jean spotted Marco walking toward him, a broad grin adorning his face.

"Yeah, yeah.  Now help me out."

Marco sat cross-legged across from Jean in the space between the two babies and set down both trays of food.  "What's this?" he asked as he picked up the fallen piece of paper.

"Probably a detention."

As Marco turned it over in his hand, another bell rang.  He spoke through the stamping of many feet headed for the cafeteria, "This is a pass for your Algebra II class signed by Mr. Ackerman."  Concerned eyes left the paper to peer at Jean.  "Were you out here all of last period?"

"In my defense, I was caring for the baby the entire time.  Now will you please feed yours so I can eat too?"

Marco sighed but relieved Jean of Izzy's bottle nonetheless.  "You can't skip class because of the baby."

Jean took a bite of what he assumed was a breaded chicken sandwich.  "Easy for you to say.  Yours only cried once - or technically twice now."

"How many times has yours cried?" Marco asked between mouthfuls of tasteless corn.

"Constantly.  Too many to count."

"It can't be that bad."

Jean raised an eyebrow.  "You wanna bet?  I'll probably be spending the entire day sitting right here with a crying doll in my arms."

"Jean, you can't-"

"But I am.  It doesn't pay for me to go to class if I have to step out in the hall every five minutes."

Marco was quiet for a moment, popping a grape into his mouth.  After swallowing, he said, "What if we swapped babies.  You take Izzy, and I'll take... M&M.  Will you go to class then?"

Jean pondered silently, then asked, "She's only cried once?"

Marco nodded.  "She's really quiet.  I promise."

"Okay, deal."

"Good," Marco smiled.

When they finished eating, Jean took their trays back.  Classes resumed shortly after, and the two headed separate ways with their swapped babies.

It didn't take long for Jean to realize Marco was right.  Isabella slept through both 6th and 7th periods.  Every time a baby cried, his heart skipped a few beats and he held his breath - a horrifying chill running down his spine until he noticed it was someone else's baby.  He would've pitied them if it wasn't for the fact he dealt with a screaming doll all morning.

When 7th period ended, he headed back to his locker.  His steps faltered when he spotted Marco slumped in front of it - rocking back and forth with Major Mistake in his arms.

Marco stood as soon as he saw Jean, holding the baby out for him to take.  "I want Izzy back."

Jean smirked.  "Not so easy, is it?"

"You might have to sleep at your own house."

"Nah-uh," Jean shook his head as they traded babies and headed for the same Chemistry class.  "You promised we'd do this together."

"But... but M&M is so fussy," Marco whined.

"Trust me, I know."

 

Ironically enough, Major Mistake was silent through the last class of the day, and it was Isabella who cried through the entire period.  Poor Marco seemed to be at his wits end, so Jean took pity on him and fed the doll, freeing Marco to take notes.

When the final bell of the day rang, Jean internally rejoiced.  He couldn't rise from his seat fast enough, and the trip to their lockers felt incredibly longer than usual.  The two of them lugged homework, diaper bags, and babies out to Jean's car.

"How are these supposed to secure to the seat?" Marco asked as he fiddled with a seat belt and Izzy's car seat.

"Don't bother.  Just set them on the seat," Jean said as he placed Major Mistake's carrier in the back seat and slammed the door.

"But what if-"

"I'll drive carefully."

"But-"

"Hop in, Sprinkles, or I'm leaving without you," Jean said as he slid into the driver's seat.

Marco crawled over Isabella - awkwardly pulling the door shut - and settled between the two car seats.  "Fine, but I'm staying back here."

"Suit yourself," Jean mumbled and turned the key in the ignition.

Jean backed out of the parking space and joined the line of cars waiting to leave the lot.  Inching his way toward the street, it was a good five minutes before he drove off school grounds, turning the opposite direction than the sea of traffic.  He knew the side streets like the back of his hand - every twist and turn engraved into a mental map within his mind.  It was far quicker than taking the main drive, and he pulled into the cal-de-sac barely ten minutes later, parking in his normal spot next to the curb.

"I told you they'd be fine," Jean said and flashed a smile in the rear-view mirror.

Marco returned a smug grin of his own, "I can never be too careful with the way you drive."

"Are you dead?" Jean huffed.  "I think not, so shut up about my driving."

Marco chuckled as Jean slid from the vehicle and yanked open the back door.  He grabbed both diaper bags to sling them over his shoulder before retrieving Major Mistake.

"Are you gonna leave a note for your parents?" Marco asked as he scooted across the seat with Izzy in tow.

"Nah, I'll text them.  If they need me, they know where to find me."  He'd only be next door after all.

They walked side by side up Marco's driveway, the two-story modern home casting a shadow upon them.  Marco led the way in through a side door connected to the one car garage.  Leaving their shoes in a line by the door, they stepped up three stairs before entering into a small entryway.

"Marco, is that you?  Welcome home, honey."

"Hi, Mom," Marco replied with a warm smile, stepping into view of an open concept floor plan, finding his mom loading the dishwasher.  "Jean's spending the weekend.  Is that okay?"

Marco's mother straightened up, brushing strands of long dark hair behind her ear.  Her genial smile crinkled the corners of bright bay eyes.  "Of course that's okay.  Jean's always welcome."

"Thanks, Mom.  We'll be up in my room taking care of the simulator babies.  Call if you need help with anything."

"Have fun," his mother called as the boys crossed the room to ascend the staircase.

Marco led the way down a hall heavily decorated with family portraits even though Jean knew the way as if he was the one that lived there.  Marco's room was at the end of the hall, overlooking the fenced in backyard.  Small and cozy, a full size bed was centered against the left wall, a nightstand on either side of it.  Directly across from it, an old TV sat atop an oaken dresser, various gaming consoles and movie players connected to it.  Two large, identical beanbag chairs sat on the carpeted floor at the foot of the bed in prime video game playing territory.

Jean dumped the diaper bags atop the navy duvet adorning the bed and set Major Mistake on the floor before heading directly for the beanbag chairs.  He plopped down in the nearest one with a tired sigh.  "So what's first?"

"Homework."

"Never heard of it.  Pick a different game."

A heavy math book fell into Jean's lap, his notebook and pencil following right after.  "You may not have attended Algebra class, but we still got homework in it."

"Fine, fine.  But then I get to pick the first game."

"'Kay" Marco said as he collapsed in the other beanbag, his own textbook sitting upon his knees.

They silently scribbled equations and answers on paper, periodically checking each other's work.  When Major Mistake started to cry, Marco got up to care for him, leaving Jean to correct a calculation error.  Marco returned with the baby cradled in his arms, rocking back and forth as he continued with his homework.

"Did you get 16.52 for the last one?" Jean asked.

"Yep, that's right," Marco nodded.

"Thank god!" Jean said as he shoved his notebook to the floor.  "It's Mario time."

"Jean."

His hand froze, mere inches from grabbing a  _Wii_ controller from the dresser.  "Yes, Marco?"

"Chemistry worksheets."

His lip twitched, quirking into a grimace.  "But we have all weekend."

"We'll be too tired if we wait till Sunday."

Jean relented, shuffling to retrieve the worksheets.  With Marco's notes, he breezed right through them, tossing them in the growing heap of finished school work.  He stretched out on the beanbag, leaning back against the bed with his arms crossed behind his head.

He turned to peer at Marco - Major Mistake cradled in one arm while the other helped to balance a mythology textbook on his knees.  The afternoon sun spilling in through the window caressed his light sepia skin, illuminating every freckle upon his cheeks.  Earthy orbs trailed along the lines of text, flicking from side to side - completely oblivious to Jean's adoring gaze.  With every turn of a page, his eyes glanced at the baby, a softness to his eyes as if the doll was a living being.  When he finished, Marco silently closed the book, continuing to sway back and forth with a fond smile directed at Major Mistake.

"You're gonna be a great dad."

Marco startled at Jean's whispered words, his shoulders flinching.  He sucked his bottom lip into his mouth as his eyes flicked to the floor.  His face flushed - all the way to the tips of his ears.  "Thanks," he murmured.

Jean leaned in close, catching Marco's tender gaze, before brushing his lips against speckled cheeks.  He pulled back with a brilliant grin.  "So Mario time?"

Marco snorted with an unexpected puff of laughter.  "Yeah.  Mario time."

Jean set up the game and even brought over Isabella to place her within reach of both Marco and himself.  Marco set Major Mistake back in the carrier before taking a controller from Jean.  They spent the afternoon and early evening playing as Mario and Luigi as the characters beat their way through each world.  By the time Mrs. Bodt knocked at their door, both boys rocked a baby in their arms and struggled to avoid the enemy turtle dudes on the television screen.

"Oh, how cute!" Mrs. Bodt gushed at the sight before her.

"Mom," Marco drolled.

"I know, I know.  I'm embarrassing you in front of your boyfriend.  I just wanted to bring up dinner and some snacks," she said, stepping to set a tray of food atop the bed.  "Let me know if you boys need anything else."

"Thanks, Mom."

"Thank you, Mrs. Bodt."

When the bedroom door clicked shut, they paused the game to grab bowls of still hot mac n' cheese.  "Your mom's awesome," Jean said between mouthfuls of cheesy noodles.

"Yeah, she is," Marco hummed his agreement.  He glanced over his shoulder at the assortment of chips, cookies, and juice pouches piled on his bed.  "We won't have to leave my room all weekend."

"Good.  I didn't plan on it."

When they finished eating, they stacked the dirty bowls on the dresser and resumed game play - that was until fifteen minutes later when the babies starting bawling at the same time.  "M&M needs a diaper change," Marco said.

Jean chimed the doll.  "How can you tell?"

"That's the diaper change cry.  When he wants to be fed, the cry is higher pitched.  And when he wants to be held, the cries are shorter and closer together."

"I can't tell the difference," Jean admitted, but he took Marco's advice nonetheless.  As he switched color coated diapers, the cries ceased.  He hummed in appreciation, "Interesting."

Marco glanced at the digital clock on his nightstand.  It read 6:43pm.  Dusty orbs flicked to Jean.  "If you want to take a shower now, I'll watch the babies.  When you're done, we can switch."

"'Kay.  I'll be quick."

And quick he made it.  A hasty scrub of his hair and he was done, stepping out of the shower to dry off the best he could.  He wrapped the fluffy white towel around his hips and scooped up his discarded clothes.  Peeking out into the hall to confirm that the coast was clear, Jean hopped across the hall - two steps to the right and slipped back into Marco's room.

Swaying his hips a little too dramatically, Jean smirked as he passed in front of Marco, tossing his armful of clothes at the boy.  He rounded the foot of the bed, flippantly smirking at Marco over his shoulder.

"This isn't where they belong," Marco laughed, bundling the clothes into a ball to toss into a hamper behind the door.

"Close enough," Jean shrugged.

Grabbing hold of the brass handle, he yanked the top drawer of the nightstand -  _his_ nightstand - open.  A folded pair of blue plaid pajama bottoms and a black band t-shirt sat at the top of a pile of Jean's freshly washed clothes.  That was his drawer at Marco's house, and Marco had a drawer at his house too.  It came in handy for impromptu sleepovers or when they lost track of time and the next thing they knew it was 2am.  That way, neither of them had to go next door to their house in the dead of night for a clean pair of pants.

Jean let the towel drop from his waist, and he shimmied into a pair of gray briefs.  Peering to the side, he caught Marco's eyes on his ass.  "Enjoying the show?" he chuckled, wiggling his hips for good measure.

"Why, yes I-"

The mewl of a baby cut off Marco's words.  Both sets of eyes darted to the dolls in their carriers on the floor.

"Your turn," Marco chirped as he lithely hopped to his feet.  "Have fun."

"But that's your baby!" Jean complained, throwing his towel at his retreating boyfriend.

Marco caught it, flashing a brilliantly white grin at Jean.  "Thanks.  I needed this," he smirked, slipping into the hall.

Jean stepped into his pajama bottoms before joining the babies on the floor.  "What do you want, Izzy?" he cooed as he picked up the doll, waving his wrist to chime it.  "Your bottle?  Are you hungry?"  He leaned forward to snatch the bottle from the floor and brought it to the doll's lips.

A content sigh breezed past his lips when the bottle worked.  Crossing his legs beneath himself, his head lolled back to rest against the bed.  This wasn't so hard.  What had he been afraid of?  Yeah, it as kind of a pain in the ass, but at least the dolls weren't real.  He didn't have to deal with unknown stenches and bodily fluids.  If anything, the dolls were nothing more than minor annoyances.  He could do this.  Jean could ace his parenting final.  That he was sure of.

After Marco returned and slipped into a matching pair of plaid pajama bottoms, they ended up watching movies and snacking on chips for the rest of the night.  Around 8 o'clock, they changed both babies into their nighttime onesies and put them in their carriers for the night.  They both dearly hoped Ms. Ral told the truth when she said they'd sleep longer in their pajama onesies than their daytime clothes.

Jean and Marco stayed up until their third movie ended around one thirty in the morning.  Having already had to feed both babies at the beginning of the last movie, Jean hoped they'd sleep until the sun came up.

Jean crawled beneath the covers on his side of the bed while Marco flicked off the lights.  The bed dipped as Marco joined him, turning on his side to face Jean.  "Goodnight," he whispered, leaning close to place a quick peck of his lips to the tip of Jean's nose.

Jean snorted at the tender gesture.  "You're a dork," he quietly laughed.

"But you love me."

"Yeah.  I sure do."

They drifted off, the only sounds being Jean's snores and Marco's soft breaths.  But the peace they were so used to when sharing that bed shattered only two hours later with the wailing of a baby echoing in the small room.

Jean's eyelids reluctantly peels back and squinted shut again when Marco turned on the lights.  With a groan, he pushed himself into a sitting position to glare at the two dolls in the carriers on the floor.  "What time is it?" he groggily asked.

"3:30."

He groaned again, falling back to the bed and burying his face in the pillow.  He swore, if this was considered sleeping longer, then Jean hated to imagine what it'd be like if they were in their day outfits.

By the time Marco finished feeding Izzy and crawled back into bed, Jean was already passed out - his mouth hanging open with drool soaking into the pillowcase.  Staring into the darkness, the last thing Marco saw before drifting off was the soft glow of the moon caressing the messy strands of Jean's ashy hair.

 

"It's your turn," Marco groaned, waking up for the fourth time that night - or well, morning.

"Ugh."  Jean dragged himself from the mattress.  Not even bothering with the lights, he dropped to his hands and knees to crawl to the babies.  It had been M&M last time, and it was him this time too.  That was the diaper change cry.  Somehow, being sleep deprived helped him to learn and distinguish between the three slightly different cries and their meanings.

"This sucks," Jean said as he climbed back atop the mattress and burrowed into Marco's side.

Marco hummed his agreement as he slung an arm over Jean's side to lazily comb his fingers against Jean's undercut.  "Go back to sleep," he murmured.

Jean didn't have to be told twice.

 

Altogether, they got about four hours of interrupted sleep.  Around seven thirty - after both babies started wailing - they dragged themselves out of bed and decided to get dressed for the day.  After caring for the dolls, the boys trudged downstairs to scavenge for breakfast.

"Wow.  You guys look like shit."

"Thanks," Jean mumbled with a roll of his eyes at the youngest Bodt's words.

"Emilio, what would Mom say if she heard you say that?" Marco chastised his younger brother, but his words lacked any authority.

The middle school version of Marco - with the same dark hair cut shorter than his older brother's - shrugged his shoulders.  "I wouldn't know.  She's not here."

"Haha, funny," Marco said, flicking Emilio's head as he passed behind him.  "Where'd she go?"

"Shopping with Jean's mom.  Said they'd probably be back by dinner time."

Marco grabbed an entire box of lucky charm cereal.  "Oh, okay.  We'll be in my room.  Try not to burn the house down."  He and Jean headed back to the stairs.

"Try not to kill your babies," Emilio fired back.

Marco rolled his eyes but smiled nonetheless.  He led the way back to his room, crawling atop his bed with Jean following suit.  Side by side, they scooted to the head of the bed and sat against the wall.  Marco ripped open the cereal box to take a handful of cereal and colorful marshmallow mix before passing the box to Jean.

They ate in silence, too exhausted to do anything but pass the cereal back and forth between them.  They finished off the box and two juice pouches each before splaying out on the bed to stare at the cream colored ceiling.

"This makes me not want kids," Jean said.

"Real babies aren't this bad.  And we'll only have one at a time."

"Good, 'cause any more might kill me."

Marco hummed.  "Hey, have you been keeping track of feedings and diaper changes?"

"No.  Have you?"

"No," Marco quietly admitted.

"Oh, well," Jean shrugged, his eyes drooping shut.  "We'll just make it up as we go."

"Jean."

Oh no, Jean knew that tone.  "It's not like Ms. Ral is gonna know the difference."

"But I will."

Marco literally rolled to the floor and crawled to the foot of the bed where they left the diaper bags.  He dug into both of them and returned with the packets from Ms. Ral.  "Fill it out the best you can," Marco said as he tossed the packet and a pencil to Jean.  Lying on his stomach on the floor, Marco began documenting Isabella's care over the last day. 

"Did Izzy cry at all when we swapped yesterday?" he gazed up at Jean to ask.

"Nope."  Jean paused his scribbling on the paper.  "What about Major Mistake?"

Marco stared off to ponder for a moment, physically counting on his fingers.  "Six times.  The first was a feeding at 1 o'clock-ish that lasted around ten minutes.  Then it was a diaper change around-"

"Hey, hang on.  I can't write that fast."

 

The day passed in a hazy blur for Jean - a mixture of five minute naps and baby duties between watching reruns of some old cop drama, mainly as background noise.  Jean couldn't recall a single bit of storyline from the show, not even the main character's name.  But at least Marco seemed to enjoy it.

Jean shouldn't have been tired by 8 o'clock.  It wasn't like he got a great night's sleep every night.  His body should be used to staying up till godawful hours of the morning and dragging itself out of bed for school only a few hours later.  This routine was nothing out of the ordinary for him, so why were his limbs so heavy and sluggish?  Why were yawns continuously falling from his lips?  Why did his eyes feel so dry, like they burned against the air of the room?

He could stay awake.  No, he had to.  Jean admitted to most times being a major dick, but he wasn't a big enough asshole to leave all the parenting duties to Marco.  Anyone else and maybe - no, most definitely.  But not Marco.  Never Marco.

"You know, you can go to sleep if you're tired."

Jean's eyes snapped open - he didn't even realize they were shut.  "I'm not tired," he said, having to stifle a yawn at the end.

"Sure you're not.  Why don't you lay down.  I'll wake you if I need help."

"But I'm really-" another yawn "-not tired."

"Uh-huh.  Whatever you say."

The next time Jean awoke - still in the beanbag with his head lolled back - it was the dead of night, and Major Mistake started up with a quiet coo.  "Shh." Jean shushed as he hurried to chime the doll, not wanting for the coos to turn to wails.  Knowing it to be the beginning of the diaper change cry, his fingers deftly unbuttoned the onesie to swap diapers.  When the baby fell silent, a quiet puff of air blew from Jean's lips.

Parents were awesome - having to lovingly deal with this kind of stuff for months.  After only two nights, Jean was ready to return the baby.  He knew this wasn't how he'd feel if the baby was a real living being - if it was truly  _his_ baby.  But either way, kudos to guardians who dragged themselves out of bed in the middle of the night to comfort their child.  Because Jean knew he wasn't ready - wasn't mature enough - to set aside his selfishness just yet.

Glancing through the darkness, his eyes laid upon the still sleeping Marco.  Curled up on his side, he faced the empty space where Jean should have been, clutching Jean's pillow to his chest.

"You could've woken me," Jean murmured.  Was this how Marco normally slept when Jean wasn't beside him?

Jean's eyes trailed from Marco's form to stare at the babies.  There had to be a way to make this easier for Marco and himself.  But what?  What could make these late night carings easier?

What if-  But would it work?  Jean shrugged.  Why the hell wouldn't it?

 

"Jean, you forgot to fix M&M's onesie when you changed him last."

"No, I didn't," Jean groaned, rolling on his other side to face the window.  "Check Izzy's."

Marco peered through the darkness.  "So you forgot twice?"

"No, I made it easier for us.  If they need a diaper change, just swap out the diapers.  No need to fasten anything, 'cause they still register."

"Jean."

"Don't  _Jean_ me."

"But that's cheating."

"It's being resourceful."

But-"

"Resourceful," Jean emphasized.  "There's no rule against it.  Now get your butt back into bed.  I'm cold."

Marco relented, mainly because he was too exhausted to argue.  And there weren't any rules against it, so maybe it wasn't exactly cheating.  Oh well, the bed - and well,  Jean - called to him, so he wasn't about to debate the rules of simulator baby diaper changes at 4am.

"There's a blanket if you're cold," Marco said, mustering up a small smile.

"But you're warmer."

Marco climbed in beside Jean.  "I guess if I absolutely have to..." he trailed off as he wrapped his arms around Jean and hooked a leg over his hips.

 

Sunday afternoon, they decided it'd be best to get some fresh air and headed out to the backyard with babies in tow.  The backyard consisted of a stone patio and grilling area - complete with a table with an overhead umbrella for shade.  The intricate stone pattern gave way to manicured grass, a small vegetable garden against the left fence and a shed in the far back corner.  Towards the back half of the yard, a double swing set stood beside a large sandbox.

The boys headed for the swings, the grass crunching beneath their bare feet.  Setting babies and diaper bags a few feet away in the grass, they claimed their swings - Marco on the right and Jean on the left.

With a heavy sigh, Jean slumped in his seat and wrapped his hands around the metal chains.  He swayed gently back and forth, his toes digging into the dirt track worn into the lush grass from years of feet dragging against it.  "One more night," he quietly breathed.  "I'm gonna sleep for a week straight."

Marco chuckled - quiet yet brilliantly cheerful.  "Can I join you?"

"Sure.  We can stock up on junk food and go into hibernation."

Marco pushed off the ground, propelling backward before gently swinging forward.  "I don't think that's how it works, but I'll gladly give it a try."

"I'll ask my mom to make her apple snickers salad if you ask yours to make chocolate chip cookies."

"I can bake cookies."

Jean shook his head.  "No, it has to be your mom.  Hers are so gooey and soft, and I've never tasted anything better."

"Okay.  How about if we both ace this final, we celebrate with as many sweets as we can stomach."

"Oh my god, yes!" Jean exclaimed, renewed energy surging through him at the thought.  "We should have a cookout.  It'll be summer break in two weeks so we should do it then.  A big celebration for our last summer before we're legally adults."

"That sounds amazing."

They fell into a peaceful silence.  A warm breeze caressed their skin, wrapping around each limb and ruffling soft strands of hair.  Never before were they more grateful for the silence than they were in that moment.  They were content staring up at the light blue of the afternoon sky, pointing out how the fluff of the clouds resembled a dandelion or a badly rendered cartoon monkey drawn by a five year old.

When Izzy broke their beloved peace, Jean volunteered to check on her, a new skip to his step as he walked to the dolls.  Settling into the grass with his legs stretched out in front of him and one hand supporting the weight of his upper body, he held the bottle to the plastic lips.

In less than 24 hours, all this would be over.  There'd be no more waking up to a bawling baby - or sometimes babies - at 3am.  No more bottle feedings or diaper changes or journaling of each and every little thing done to the babies.  He wouldn't have to rock the doll in his arms for a half hour before it settled down or hold a bottle to its mouth until his arm went numb.  He could actually pay attention when marathoning old TV shows or trying to save Princess Peach.

Would he miss Major Mistake or Isabella Sophia?  No - absolutely not.  But in his mind, this was a good experience, especially sharing it with Marco.  Without Marco, he'd probably have abandoned the doll to cry its plastic heart out in the garage by now.  He certainly would've failed the final and potentially the class, but with Marco, a near-perfect score was within his reach.

So he actually enjoyed the last evening with the babies, lounging under the rays of the sun with Marco and the dolls until the sky darkened to deep pink and blazing orange.  Color faded along with the sun's bright warmth, leaving behind a darkness lit by thousands of twinkling stars - a scene, which if you asked Jean, greatly resembled that of the skin of the boy he loved, of Marco's cheeks and arms and back, of every last inch of what Jean thought was the most beautiful being to walk upon this planet.

 

For once, it was the ring of an alarm clock which roused Jean and Marco from the depths of unconsciousness.  With bags under their eyes and a sluggishness to their limbs, they mechanically dressed for school - gathering homework and baby supplies before being wished a good day by Mrs. Bodt.  They passed Emilio waiting for the bus on their way out, and even he didn't offer a single jibe at the zombified state of his brother and brother's boyfriend.

Jean was extra careful with driving to school.  He stayed well below the posted limit, because in all honesty, he probably shouldn't have been behind the wheel - what with his extreme sleep deprivation the past couple nights.  But they still made it to school in one piece - albeit a little late, but better safe than sorry.

They trudged into the building, finding the halls to be nearly empty.  A quick trip to their lockers, and then they were on their way to a shared foods class.  The teacher didn't pause in his instructions for the day's food lab, giving Jean and Marco the recipe without missing a beat.  It was a wonder they didn't start a fire or cut off a finger.  Thankfully, they were in a group with their friends - Reiner and Bertholdt - who kept a close eye every time Marco picked up a knife or Jean poured oil into the pan.

By the time their third period parenting class started, both boys barely hung onto their strands of consciousness.  But they weren't the only zombies in the classroom.  Seven out of ten students who took home babies looked like walking corpses.  The other three - bright and cheery-eyed - lucked out with content, happy babies.

Ms. Ral stood at the front of the classroom, assessing the mental and physical conditions of her class.  "Okay," she clapped her hands together to bring all eyes to her.  "Today we're going to start the movie about baby development.  It's a documentary that will start at conception and continue through birth.  But first, I want to collect the babies.  Anyone who took one home, please bring them up with all their supplies and line them against the wall.  You can hand in your journals in you're done or give them to me tomorrow.  Either way is fine."

Jean, Marco, and the other eight students rose from their seats and placed the car seats and diaper bags against the front wall before waiting in line for Ms. Ral to remove their 'parent' bracelets.  When they all returned to their seats, Ms. Ral started up the projector and turned off the lights.

Jean's head fell to the table to rest upon his binder.  His eyelids fluttered shut, snapping open once before he gave in to the need to rest his eyes.  He listened to the documentary until that, too, faded to unrecognizable syllables and then mere background noise.

Marco would've nudged him with an elbow or poked his cheek, but he was already fast asleep, his freckled cheek resting atop folded arms and his lips slightly parted.

**Author's Note:**

> As always, you can find me on tumblr as freakofnature15. Thanks for reading! :)


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